


It's Date Night!

by SilkySatan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Zuko has PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24507037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilkySatan/pseuds/SilkySatan
Summary: Zuko has PTSD. Sokka comforts him.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 329





	It's Date Night!

Finally. Peace and fucking quiet. Zuko let his head rest against the cool metal door to his quarters, almost wanting to just melt down into a royal red puddle right there. Eyes closed, he removed his headpiece and the band holding his top-knot together, letting his hair tumble down over his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, he was met with… Sokka? With a rose between his teeth. It was not unusual for Sokka to be in his quarters, or even lounging in his bed in his underwear, as he was now. The rose, however, was a little surprising. As Zuko looked around and took in his surroundings -- something he didn’t expect to have to do upon entering his own bedroom -- he saw rose petals on the sheets and candles lit around the room.

“Welcome home, babe! It’s date night!” Sokka beamed, placing a hand on his hip in a mock gesture of seduction. Zuko looked down, trying not to belay his inner emotions. This was beautiful. He wished he could enjoy it. 

”What’s wrong?” Sokka’s face fell when he saw Zuko’s. He let the rose drop from his teeth and sat up. “Are you okay?” Zuko came to him before he could leave the bed, grabbing a hand to hold between his own.

“I’m fine, just tired. It was a rough trip. The colonies are doing well, but the seas were stormy. Being out on the water like that, it reminded me of…” Zuko trailed off, grimacing, not really wanting to say it. Sokka knew that the Fire Lord’s days in exile still haunted him. Even though he had confronted his father and taken the throne, sometimes he still woke up screaming in the night. Sokka was always there to wipe the cold sweat from his brow and soothe him back to sleep. He tried not to ask too many details about the dreams, but he had gathered enough information to know that Zuko’s childhood was not all that it seemed to be.

When Zuko first started hunting the Avatar -- or rather, when they first noticed that they were being hunted -- they all assumed he was a spoiled brat, acting on daddy’s orders. At that time, he kind of was. But they had no idea the hurt that lay beneath his explosive outer shell. His father had been horrible to him, and his mother… he never spoke of. Sokka didn’t know what happened to her. But he knew that Zuko was deeply wounded, and he saw it in his lover’s face, in the clench of his jaw and the plea in his golden eyes, framed as they were by his long, dark hair.

Zuko returned Sokka’s gaze, not lifting his head and not letting his tears fall, but just looking. He admired the soft curve of Sokka’s lips, turned into a frown at this particular moment. He felt sorry for the knit of his brow, sorry to cause this concern. He thought for too long that he had to suffer in silence, screaming inside himself for three years of exile, screaming in pain and anger and confusion. It was hard to unlearn that kind of thing. But he did lift his head, and did let his tears fall. He looked hard into Sokka’s ocean eyes, willing himself to feel calm and safe. He wrapped his arms around the other man’s neck, dropping his head into Sokka’s shoulder. Sokka leaned back, drawing Zuko over his body until they were lying together, cradling each other’s heads. He twisted an inky lock between his fingers. They were so close now, and he had missed Zuko so much. It felt good to hold him again.

“It’s not real,” he whispered, running a hand down the bumps of Zuko’s spine. “I know you know that, but I also know that you need to hear it sometimes. It’s not happening anymore. It’s never going to happen again.” He felt one of Zuko’s tears fall onto his bare chest. He twisted his hand up in Zuko’s hair, coaxing him back off of his chest so their foreheads could rest together.

“You’re safe now.” And Sokka felt a tear of his own fall. He paused, watching as it dripped onto Zuko’s chin, and then smiled. “You have something on your face.”

“What is it?” Zuko asked, looking serious.

“It’s a gay empathy tear from your gay boyfriend who loves you.”

Zuko smiled in response, the first one Sokka had seen since his return. “I love you, too, and it is for that sole reason that I will not beat your ass for ruining our tender moment.”

“Hey, it can still be date night if that’s where things are headed!”

“No, I don’t think I’m ready for that tonight. Will you just. Will you just hold me.” Zuko stated instead of asking. He still felt awkward requesting physical affection, even after all the time they’d spent together. He had come a long way from flinching every time he was touched. 

“Yes, baby. I will hold the fuck out of you. It’s gonna be okay,” he promised. “You’re gonna be okay.” He meant it.


End file.
